Chichester’s cultural scene is firing on all cylinders, says Mark Ringwood, so why was it sidelined in its bid to become the first UK City of Culture?
Chichester is a small city (26,000 residents) known artistically for Chichester Festival Theatre, Pallant House Gallery, Fishbourne Roman Palace, the Weald and Downland Museum, the Cass Sculpture Foundation and the dominating cathedral. The cash-strapped local council has one fulltime arts and heritage officer, and a large portion of its limited arts funding goes to the theatre and the gallery. So why even contemplate the idea of becoming UK City of Culture 2013?
City of Culture guidelines suggested that there no funding would be available to bidders, and that applications would be judged on merit and not vast financial resources. But a public meeting, arranged by South West/West Sussex Arts Group (SWAG) in late 2008, already showed overwhelming support for establishing ‘Chichester – City of Arts & Heritage’, reflecting and promoting the city and its environs. And so, the DCMS plans to create a 2013 UK City of Culture was met with plenty of enthusiasm, particularly as this was a competition clearly targeted at the smaller towns and cities in Britain unable to contemplate bidding for European City of Culture.
‘SENSE THE CULTURE’
This was an opportunity for us to bring together the large and the small, business and community, throughout the Chichester District. We approached and engaged the support of Chichester District Council (CDC) and local media came enthusiastically onboard, followed quickly by the Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and the tourism board, Visit Chichester. CDC offered up to £10,000 to prepare the bid but couldn’t commit manpower. This was just enough to fund a bid-writer, design the ‘Sense the Culture’ strapline, create a website, pay for promotional print and badges, and host public meetings. The bid started to take shape; we knew that virtually cost-free creativity and ingenuity was the only way we could successfully deliver. In the difficult financial climate, the proposed programme was achievable, affordable and engaged all communities. Of course, rumours persisted that possible rival bidders had a mass of money and staff to fund their applications, but Chichester was undaunted, our bid was realistic and the content was exciting.
From the coastal towns and villages to the vast expanse of rolling countryside, there are hundreds of individual practitioners working across all arts genres; including the internationally acclaimed sculptor Philip Jackson, theatre designer Pamela Howard and designer Wayne Hemingway. Chichester is perceived, often from the outside, as being largely white, middle-class and aging but there is a growing creative element of young people, many of them arts and performing arts graduates from the University of Chichester and Chichester College. The ‘I Am Joy’ organisation (an annual arts festival and contemporary art gallery), founded by ex-students is just one inspirational outcome; our bid was designed to embrace and encourage more work like this.
Bid-writing began in late November and the DCMS announced the longlist in mid-December: the subsequent higher public profile of Chichester was an immediate payback for the council’s investment. But it was also evident that the goalposts had shifted. Big cities, like Birmingham and Sheffield who could have competed for the European City of Culture, were also on the list. The final straw for us came when the DCMS told bidders that around £10m of new investment would be required in order to benefit from hosting the 2013 programme. Whilst Chichester has £20m-plus committed to capital arts projects over the next few years, £10m for the 2013 programme was, sadly, totally unrealistic for a city our size.
BIDDING ADIEU
Disappointment sank in when Chichester failed to make the shortlist, but was slightly tempered by Chichester Chamber of Commerce & Industry giving the bid team an award, acknowledging the true value of bringing arts and business together. Graciously, Norwich also sent an encouraging note of support. As for the way ahead, we wait on the District Council to decide how it wants to adopt the legacy. Culturally, the city is on a roll, capitalising on all the enthusiasm from our bid. We can prove that the quality and diversity of the arts and heritage that Chichester offers can be further developed, publicised and effectively marketed.
Mark Ringwood is Director of Roots Around the World, which brings global music to West Sussex.
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